This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Summary
A number of conclusions can be drawn from this chapter’s examination of industrial espionage. The first conclusion: It does indeed occur. The case studies clearly demonstrate that industrial espionage is not some exotic fantasy dreamed up by paranoid security experts. It is an unfortunate, but quite real, aspect of modern business. If your firm’s management chooses to ignore these dangers, then they do so at their own peril.
The second thing that can be concluded from this brief study of industrial espionage is that there are a variety of methods by which espionage can take place. An employee revealing confidential information is perhaps the most common. However, compromising information systems is another increasingly popular means of obtaining confidential and potentially valuable data. You will want to know the best way to protect your company and yourself. In the upcoming exercises, you will run screen-capture software, key loggers, and antispyware so you can learn more about espionage tactics and how to deal with them.
Test Your Skills
Multiple Choice Questions
Terrance is trying to explain industrial espionage to a group of new security techs. What is the ultimate goal of espionage?
To subvert a rival government
To obtain information that has value
To subvert a rival business
To obtain information not otherwise available
In order to truly understand industrial espionage, you need to understand the mindset of the spy. What is the best outcome for a spy attempting an espionage activity?
To obtain information without the target even realizing he did so
To obtain information with or without the target realizing he did so
To obtain information and discredit the target
To obtain information and cause harm to the target
What is the usual motivating factor for corporate/industrial espionage?
Ideological
Political
Economic
Revenge
Which of the following types of information would be a likely target for industrial espionage?
A new algorithm that the company’s IT department has generated
A new marketing plan that the company has formulated
A list of all the company’s customers
All of these answers are correct
Accurate statistics on corporate espionage are difficult to obtain. One reason is that the victims don’t always report the crime, as they often don’t want the incidents to become public. Which of the following is a likely reason that an organization might be reluctant to admit it has been a victim of corporate espionage?
It would embarrass the IT department.
It would embarrass the CEO.
It might cause stock value to decline.
It might lead to involvement in a criminal prosecution.
What is the difference between corporate and industrial espionage?
None; they are interchangeable terms.
Industrial espionage only refers to heavy industry, such as factories.
Corporate espionage only refers to executive activities.
Corporate espionage only refers to publicly traded companies.
Information is a valuable asset. It can be useful to calculate that value in order to determine how much effort should be put into protecting it. What formula can you use to calculate the value of information?
Resources needed to produce the information plus resources gained from the information
Resources needed to produce the information multiplied by resources gained from the information
Time taken to derive the information plus money needed to derive the information
Time taken to derive the information multiplied by money needed to derive the information
If a company purchases a high-end UNIX server to use for its research and development department, what is probably the most valuable part of the system?
The high-end UNIX server
The information on the server
The devices used to protect the server
The room to store the server
Information is an asset to your company if it
cost any sum of money to produce.
cost a significant sum of money to produce.
might have economic value.
might cost significant money to reproduce.
What is the greatest security risk to any company?
Disgruntled employees
Hackers
Industrial spies
Faulty network security
Which of the following is the best definition for spyware?
Software that assists in corporate espionage
Software that monitors activity on a computer
Software that logs computer keystrokes
Software that steals data
What is the highest level of security you can expect to obtain?
A level of security that makes the effort required to get information more costly than the value of the information
A level of security comparable with government security agencies, such as the Central Intelligence Agency
A level of security that has a 92.5% success rate in stopping intrusion
A level of security that has a 98.5% success rate in stopping intrusion
In the context of preventing industrial espionage, why might you wish to limit the number of company CD burners and control access to them in your organization?
An employee could use such media to take sensitive data.
An employee could use such media to copy software from the company.
CDs could be a vehicle for spyware to get on your system.
CDs could be a vehicle for a virus to get on your system.
Why would you want to scan an employee’s computer when he leaves the organization?
To check the workflow prior to his leaving
To check for signs of corporate espionage
To check for illegal software
To check for pornography
What is the reason for encrypting hard drives on laptop computers?
To prevent a hacker from reading the data while you are online
To ensure that data transmissions are secure
To ensure that another user on that machine will not see sensitive data
To prevent a thief from getting data off of a stolen laptop
Exercises
EXERCISE 7.1: Learning About Industrial Espionage
Using the Web, library, journals, or other resources, look up a case of industrial or corporate espionage that was not already mentioned in this chapter.
Write a brief essay describing the facts in the case. The parties in the case and the criminal proceeding are of interest, but most of your discussion should focus on the technical aspects of the case. Be sure to explain how the espionage was conducted.
EXERCISE 7.2: Using Antispyware
Note that this exercise may be repeated with different antispyware products. It is a good idea for any person interested in computer security to be familiar with multiple antispyware products.
Go to the website of one of the antispyware utilities. (See Chapter 5 if you need more direction.)
Find instructions on the vendor’s website.
Download the trial version of that software.
Install the software on your machine.
After installation, run the utility. What did it find? Record your results.
Let the utility remove or quarantine anything it found.
EXERCISE 7.3: Learning About Key Loggers
Note that this exercise may only be completed on machines where you have explicit permission to do so (not on public computers).
Using any website, find and download a key logger. The following websites might help you locate a key logger: www.kmint21.com/familykeylogger/ and www.blazingtools.com/bpk.html.
Install the key logger on your PC.
Examine how the key logger behaves on your machine. Do you notice anything that might indicate the presence of illicit software?
Run the antispyware software you downloaded in Exercise 7.2. Does the antispyware software detect the key logger?
EXERCISE 7.4: Screen-Capture Spyware
Using the Web, find and download a screen-capturing spyware application. The following website might be helpful to you in selecting an appropriate product: http://en.softonic.com/s/screen-capture-spy-software. Warning: Since you are downloading spyware, it is likely that your system’s antivirus/antispyware will give you a warning.
Install and configure the application on your computer.
Run the application and note what it finds.
Run the antispyware from Exercise 7.2 and see whether it detects your spyware program.
EXERCISE 7.5: Learning About Hardware-Based Key Loggers
In this chapter, as well as in Chapter 5, we discussed software-based key loggers. However, there are also hardware-based key loggers.
Use the Internet to learn more about hardware-based key loggers. (You may wish to search for “KEYKatcher” as a starting point.)
Write an essay outlining the way in which these key loggers work and how they could be implemented for either security or industrial espionage.
Projects
PROJECT 7.1: Preventing Corporate Espionage
Using one of the websites listed in this book (you can also choose from the preferred resources in Chapter 1) or other resources, find a set of guidelines on general computer security. Write a brief essay comparing and contrasting those guidelines against the ones given in this chapter. Keep in mind that the guidelines in this chapter relate specifically to corporate espionage and not to general computer security.
PROJECT 7.2: Handling Employees
Write a brief essay describing steps regarding the handling of employees. Include all steps that you believe an organization should take to prevent corporate espionage. It is important that you support your opinions with sources and reasons.
If possible, visit a company and talk with someone in either the IT department or personnel department to learn how that company handles issues such as employee termination, rotation of duties, control of access to data, and so forth. Compare and contrast the measures you wrote about in your essay to those used by the company you visited.
PROJECT 7.3: Asset Identification in Your Organization
Using Table 7.1 or a similar asset identification table of your own design, identify the most valuable data in your organization (school or business) and what parties would most likely wish to access that data. Then write a brief guideline on how you might go about securing that data. In this project, you should tailor your security recommendations to the specific type of data you are trying to protect and against the most likely perpetrators of industrial espionage.